AHL Team Foreshadowing Bigger Things?

Earlier in 2010, the Oklahoma City Blazers of the CHL announced they were disbanding. Shortly after it was discovered that OKC was trying to purchase an AHL team. The American Hockey League is the farm league for the NHL.

Shortly after that, the AHL approved a team for Oklahoma City, and OKC quickly moved to buy the Edmonton Oilers' dormant AHL franchise; The Edmonton Road Runners.

The team will play out of the, soon to be renovated, 14,000 seat Cox Convention Center in downtown OKC. It is right across the street from another professional franchise that moved to Oklahoma and is flourishing; The OKC Thunder of the NBA.

With the NBA working out so well in OKC, and the prospects of an AHL team headed to the Sooner State, what's next?

Some think that this AHL franchise, if successful, will be the launching pad to creating a bigger hockey market in Oklahoma City. Which would eventually lead to an NHL team in Oklahoma.

Now, that idea is far away. It could not possibly happen anytime soon, and a lot would have to happen to get the operation running.

But, don't be mistaken. There IS a market for hockey in OKC. But, more importantly, there is a market for professional sports. Some thought it would never work with big collegiate programs in the area such as the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys. But the Thunder isn't just working out in OKC, it is thriving.

The Oklahoma City Blazers franchise is regarded as one of the most successful hockey teams in the CHL's history drawing huge crowds nearly every game. Those fans have not left Oklahoma.

With the way the Winter Olympic turned out, and how USA hockey fared it was only natural that hockey would become a topic of national conversation once again. Not to mention local collegiate teams have been having success in club hockey, drawing surprising crowds and growing fan support.

I had the chance to talk to a former OKC Blazer player in Marco Cefalo. Cefalo told me that having the NHL in Oklahoma is not only possible, but by acquiring an AHL franchise the foundation has been lain.

"Definitely there is a market for hockey in Oklahoma," Said Cefalo.

"I think that hockey awareness has gotten bigger and bigger. Especially down here in the south as time goes on."

"I think they made the right move in going for the AHL first and seeing what kind of fanbase we can develop for that."

Could having an AHL franchise inevitably lead to a NHL team coming to Oklahoma? It's possible. After seeing the kind of success the Thunder have had, and the reaction by fans to having their own professional team, I'd say anything is possible.